The Spring Street Brief

The Ohio Housing Finance Agency (OHFA) board has approved its 2026 4% LIHTC with Bond Gap Financing (BGF) guidelines, opening the application window for one of Ohio's most critical affordable housing financing tools. Applications are due February 16, 2027, at 5:00 p.m. This approval is a key planning milestone for developers, syndicators, lenders, and investors with Ohio pipeline deals that depend on subordinate bond gap financing to close the equity-to-cost gap. Key Takeaways: OHFA board has officially approved the 2026 4% LIHTC with BGF guidelines — the formal starting gun for this...

Show Notes

The Ohio Housing Finance Agency (OHFA) board has approved its 2026 4% LIHTC with Bond Gap Financing (BGF) guidelines, opening the application window for one of Ohio's most critical affordable housing financing tools. Applications are due February 16, 2027, at 5:00 p.m. This approval is a key planning milestone for developers, syndicators, lenders, and investors with Ohio pipeline deals that depend on subordinate bond gap financing to close the equity-to-cost gap.

Key Takeaways:

  • OHFA board has officially approved the 2026 4% LIHTC with BGF guidelines — the formal starting gun for this financing round.
  • BGF application deadline: February 16, 2027 at 5:00 p.m. — a hard cutoff with no indication of extensions.
  • Bond Gap Financing serves as subordinate financing to bridge the gap between PAB/4% LIHTC equity and total development costs, expanding deal feasibility in higher-cost Ohio markets.
  • Board-approved guidelines give syndicators and investors the underwriting parameters needed to advance Ohio 4% term sheets with confidence.
  • Approximately 3.5 months remain between today and the application deadline — teams with complex deals should initiate pre-application outreach to OHFA now.
  • 9% credit competition continues to push volume toward the 4%/bond pathway, making BGF availability a meaningful driver of Ohio's overall affordable unit pipeline.

With the guidelines now approved, the window is open but the clock is running. Ohio developers and their capital partners should pull the published guidelines immediately, stress-test deal structures against the new requirements, and flag any project-specific complexity for early OHFA engagement. Missing the February 16 deadline means waiting for the next cycle — a costly delay for any deal with expiring land control or time-sensitive financing commitments.

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